PRIVACY AND VERIFICATION

How to Check an AI Answer or a Suspicious Message

AI answers sound confident whether they are right or wrong. That is the whole problem — and the fix is a short habit you can apply every time, without knowing anything technical.

Four steps to check an AI answer

1. Ask how much it matters. Dinner ideas need no checking. Anything involving money, health, travel plans, legal matters, or a deadline does.
2. Ask the tool for its sources. Type: “Where did that information come from? Give me links I can open.” Then open them. A link that does not exist, or does not say what was claimed, is your answer.
3. Confirm at the original source. Hours, prices, policies, phone numbers, and rules belong to the organization itself. Check its own website, or call it on a number you look up yourself.
4. Ask again, differently. Try the same question in a second tool, or ask “What might be wrong or out of date in that answer?” Disagreement between answers is a signal to slow down.

Warning signs in an AI answer

• Specific numbers, dates, or citations with no link you can open.
• A named book, study, case, or article you cannot find anywhere else.
• Anything about a recent event — many tools do not have current information.
• A definite answer to something that genuinely depends on your situation.

Checking a suspicious call, text, or email

This is a different job, and AI is not a reliable scam detector. Use the message itself as the warning, not the technology.

1. Stop at urgency. Pressure to act immediately — an account closing, a fine, a relative in trouble — is the most common sign of a scam.
2. Never use the contact details in the message. Look up the bank, agency, or company yourself and call the number on your statement or its official site.
3. Treat payment demands as disqualifying. Gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or “stay on the phone while you pay” are never legitimate.
4. Tell one person before you act. A family member, a friend, or us. Scams rely on your handling it alone.

You can also paste the wording of a message into an AI tool and ask “What about this message looks like a common scam?” — useful as a second opinion, never as the deciding vote. Remove your name, account numbers, and anything private first.

Suspected fraud can be reported to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov. If money has already moved, call your bank immediately.

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